JU-88 as a Nightfighter

German Luftwaffe 1935-1945.
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Commissar D, the Evil
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Post by Commissar D, the Evil »

Say Erich, would you be kind enough to just give us some basic specs and the number of the G-6 version produced? Just speed, range, altitude and that sort of thing? What units used the plane?

Best Regards, David :D
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behblc
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JU88/njg.

Post by behblc »

Erich,
Put me on your potential buyer list as well.
Seems I may have given David a wrong stear , I was under the impression that the HE219 had a lot of potential as a nightfighter , the top speed on any aircraft take with a degree of caution like most family cars .....its "a going down hill speed".
The 262 like you say I would agree with......a potential which was second to none , engines would appear to be its main weakness.

The Ju-88 like the one which landed at Gormanstown in Ireland in 45 could accomadate radr packages and still hold a heavy armament and excluding the mosquito meance could still aquit itself well be it from the 219 or 262 the nightfighter force needed a jump forward in aircraft.

On balance of what you write the 262 might have been a better bet .....definately I will keep an eye for your book(s) can you post details of publishers and possible date.....I am definately on your list of buyers.

Thanks for the update Erich ,...my opinion on the 219 stands corrected.
Having seen both the 110 and the Ju-88 at Hendon when contrasted to the Lancaster in the Bomber Command Hall the bomber stood little chance when aquired on radar.
The constant "tech war" at night is an interesting subject , advantage being rarely held for long.
Best Regards
(And good luck with your new publications).
" Life , to be sure is nothing much to loose ; But young men think it is , and we were young . "
A.E. Housman.

" The old lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori. " Wilfred Owen (M.C.).
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Post by Erich »

Gentlemen:

Thank you very much for the wonderful and kind comments concerning my books.

I am working on 9 right at the present with and from my personal database that I have built up the last 38 years.

Our work on the Moskito-jagd may possibly arise to two full volumes as it is now at about 700 pages of text.

I have one book that I will deal personally just on the Ju 88G-6, units and crews and operations from late October 1944 till wars end.

and one other book that I will cover on 1-2 operations against RAF heavies and Mossies during 1945. This will be of a more personal note on the German side(view) from the operational crews as well as the crewmen, families and my own family watching from the ground on a particular night from central Germany.

let me get back on the topic(s) at hand about the Ju 88G-6 come Tuesday as I am still cleaning up the mess, from myslef and my office here seemed to have been a collection point of mysterious items while I was away.... :shock: 8)

I will return.....and yes I will post more details on our big volumes as we get closer to publication date

Ihr ~Erich
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behblc
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Look forward.

Post by behblc »

Erich,
That's a lot of time invested, look forward to hearing more in due course.
Do you know of anyone in Europe / Germany doing any active / or who has been researching anything flak related ?
" Life , to be sure is nothing much to loose ; But young men think it is , and we were young . "
A.E. Housman.

" The old lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori. " Wilfred Owen (M.C.).
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Ju88 nightfighter successor

Post by jon s »

Erich,
Would the Dornier 335 A-6 nightfighter not have been a better follow-on to the Ju88 than the Me262 nightfighter version? It had good speed and a heavy armament, and a much better single-engine performance. I quote from Eric Brown's "Wings of the Luftwaffe" (in which he also reports on the Ju88 nightfighters, the He 219 and the Dornier 335) on the Me262: "the single-engine safety speed on take-off was daunting; an engine failure before 180 mph (290 km/h) had been attained produced dire results. In fact, accident fatalities on Me 262s had been appalling, particularly among the night fighter boys flying the heavier model, although there had been just as fair a share of nasty prangs with the single-seat version when laden with bombs." This latter point may have been from hearsay but he was aware of the engine-out performance. I admit to a bias: I think the Dornier 335 was a wonderful aircraft, but I think that it would have made for a more satisfactory nightfighter than the Me 262. Surely firing the 262's guns would have dazzled the pilot just as much as firing the guns of the Bf 110?
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Post by Erich »

The 262 B-1a/U-1 was slower than the single seater for night missions by quite a bit of speed due to extra man, radar and two fuel tanks but to carry on long running battles darting from one RAF bomber squadron to another required the longevitiy of a German night fighter. Reason enough to keep the Ju 88G-6 in front line service.

We will never know about the Do 335 since it never flew any combat ops ever ! But think of the second man above the pilot, extra radar and aerials and extra fuel tanks. Seems to me too that if the a/c would have had an engine failure it would of dropped like a rock much like a Bf 110G-4. eric's fine description is great for a post war theory and this is all we can go by.......a what if ! in fact the nachtjagd arm was seriously looking in pulling all Bf 110G's for replacement by the Me 262B-2a first which had a redesigned nose for centrimetric radar, a third crewman and Schräge Musik(it wasn't needed) here in my opinion. Slender fuel cells within the outer cockpit so need for external tanks and much more powerful jet engines. We have the full specs and data sheets which we will dedicate a whole chapter for in our book. also the Ar 234 was also looked at later with a redesigned nose and cockpit for sutiable useage.

behblc, I know of no one who has done a real comprehensive work on the Flak arm. wish someone would !!!!!

~E
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Post by Erich »

David, the Ju 88G-6 was given the production number 620000 for the first one. This werke nummer exceeded 623500 in the last production units in 1945. first started in July 1944 to supplement the tiring Ju 88G-1 with the BMW engines. The Jumo having more power and able to stand a higher altitude much better.

The JU 88G-6 was able to carry the most updated form of SN-2d radar, the FuG 217 wing aerials and FuG 218 Neptun nose radar and lastly the Berlin FuG 2401a centrimetric in about 12-15 units supplanted through NJG 4 primarily but also stab NJG 5 and a couple in III./NJG 1 which was over-all a Bf 110G-4 Geschwader if we discount I./NJG 1 with the He 219 Uhu.

The Ju 88G-6 version had two Jumo 213E engines with 1,8880 hp although pilots have cranked them out at over 2500 hp in an emergency like diving and eluding a Mossie night fighter. Loaded the a/c weighed in at roughly around 30,000 lb's depending on radar types and if the front of the canopy/nose was waxed down for less air drag.

Max speed accoridng to textural sources is 389 mph although crews clocked this baby up to 400 mph. that might have been due to a tail wind towards RAF bomber formations. This was at 30,000 to 32,000 feet. climb rates depend but it is accepted at 1700 ft per minute with a service ceiling at 33,000. Range is roughly 1500 miles on full fuel tanks and dependent on wind direction/storm clouds.
Armament the lethal four 2cm MG 151/20 with 200 rpg and usually the mg 151/20 single or dual installation Schräge Musik in one of several config's with 200 rpg. The reaward sole defensive armament was a single .50 or 13mm MG 131 with 500 rounds. In spring of 45 it was many times equipped with a flash hider on request.

The a/c was issued to front-line units in September 1944 but was only an inkl;ing of what was to come........truly in November of 44 NJG 2 was almost completely outfitted as well as numerous a/c being given to NJG 3.

III./NJG 1
all of NJG 2
all of NJG 3
a mix in NJG 4, and in fact this wing only received the G-6 version after the Ardenne offensive in numbers
almost all of NJG 5 although IV./NJG 5 had many Bf 110G-4's
a mix in NJG 6
NJG 100 gruppes
most all of the Nachtjagdschule's adding replacement pilots and crews to the Nachtjagd arm
Schule's NJG 101 and 102 before their disbandonment.......and absorbtion into the other Geschwaders.

~E
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Post by Commissar D, the Evil »

Excellent, excellent information Erich!!! Exactly what I needed and wanted! Thanks much my friend and remember, we're all waiting expectantly for the completion of your projects.

Very Best Regards, David :D
Death is lighter than a Feather, Duty is heavier than a Mountain....
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JU88.

Post by behblc »

Erich,
I take your point about the range problem relating to the ME262 , the distances covered by Nightfighter squadrons to intercept the bomber stream was often a nights work in itself.
Must try and get some more information on the 219 other than what I have at present.......some of which is probably dated.
The Ju-88 which landed in England in May 44 was a real shock to Bomber Command , the radar you mention reflects another jump forward from that which fell into BC's lap....Monica , H2S....all attracting attentions of fighters.
The intense pressure to keep ahead in the intelligence and tech. war is as important as the actual war waged between the aircrews , variations of these same sets were used by U-boats to defend themselves against Coastal Command ....so very important if you wanted to live.
Your own affection for the Ju. is evident in your description of the aircraft and her preformance....I know just how you feel !

The flak crews...they took a steady toll of bomber aircraft and compared to the fighters are perhaps less well known.
My father lost a brother with Bomber Command , Coastal Flak the same unit claimed many.
Best of luck with book Erich...keep us informed.
" Life , to be sure is nothing much to loose ; But young men think it is , and we were young . "
A.E. Housman.

" The old lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori. " Wilfred Owen (M.C.).
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Post by Erich »

Well David I hope this was of some useage for your files. Yes I think the Ju 88G-6 was quite the a/c. Many sources list a,b and c versions with the different versions of radars fitted but that is not the case. It was simply the Ju 88G-6.

Behblc, did you know that English author Andy Bird has just completed his book on Coastal Command vs the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine ? I wonder if this book would interest you in some way ? Also friend and author Carsten Peterson is translating his Dutch book to English covering I./NJG 3's Ju 88G-6's against Coastal Command during the months in 1945......

~E
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Thankyou Erich.

Post by behblc »

Erich,
Thanks for your note on the Coastal Command/ Luftwaffe book by Andy Bird...as yet I have not seen it.....last I got on this subject was "Bloody Biscay" by Chris Goss. Found it to very a useful book.

I learnt a sad piece of information in this book.
A school friend of mine had an aunt killed when the aircraft she was in transit to Gibralter failed to arrive.....the aircraft ...a Sunderland fell victim to a JU of KG40.
( She was part of a medical team en route to Middle east).

I will keep an eye out for the book.
Some work I did on Northern ireland based flying boats has estiblished with me a similar affection which you hold for the JU-88.

When I was chasing up information about my late uncles ops. I was in contact with a Dutch Researcher and author Theo Bioten who has jad two books published about Luftwaffe nightfighters and NJG force .
I was very grateful to Theo as he kindly put me in touch with a gent who lived on Vlieland , this gentleman kindly loaned some negatives made from photos given to him by a German visitor to Vlieland.
This gentleman had commanded the Vlieland West battery which shot down my uncles Halifax , in return I was able to give him what the Bundeachiv held about the action.
Strange to see the members of the gun crew , the guns night firing .
take the uniforms away and they would have been pleased to have shared a drink together in different circumstances.
My daughter and I visited Ameland were Jimmy is buried...this body the only trace of the aircraft or crew to be found.
Although this might be slightly off topic I must mention two local men who are activly researching the air war over Ameland Gerlof Molenaar and Rene Metz...two great lads who along with Gerlofs father take great care of the Commonwealth Plots on Ameland.

Will keep an eye out for the new book you mentioned.
Thanks once again.
" Life , to be sure is nothing much to loose ; But young men think it is , and we were young . "
A.E. Housman.

" The old lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori. " Wilfred Owen (M.C.).
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Do335 nightfighter

Post by jon s »

Erich,
I was looking for Do335 info on the web, and on the site http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/ ... /do335.htm I found the following: a Do335 A-6 nightfighter coded CP+UK equipped with FuG 220 was test-flown by Werner Baake of I/NJG3. Do you have any further information on this? Also, according to the scale drawings of the Do335 which appeared in the magazine Scale Models April 1976 issue the "systems operator" of the A-6 nightfighter was placed immediately behind the pilot within the fuselage under a low 'bubble' canopy rather than in a stepped second cockpit as in the A-10 and A-11 trainers. He was also equipped with a FuG 350 infra-red periscope for final acquisition of the target. The artist, Arthur L. Bentley, thanks Mr. C. Blair of Glen Williams, Canada, for information about the A-6 nightfighter and Herr Hespelt of Dorniers for information about the radar and infra-red sight. I hope that this is of interest to you.
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JU-88.

Post by behblc »

Erich,
What would you see as being the weak points of the Ju-88 as a nightfighter ?
My own view would be that against the Lancaster or Halifax she had little to fear but her vunerability would have been more from the RAF intruder aircraft.
When you mentioned the JU which shook off the Mosquito in a dive my thought as that the pilot must have been pushed hard to dive at such a speed ...his last chance of escape....one hell of a roller coaster ride.
Not for the faint hearted.
Best Regards
" Life , to be sure is nothing much to loose ; But young men think it is , and we were young . "
A.E. Housman.

" The old lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori. " Wilfred Owen (M.C.).
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Post by Erich »

Jon, I have nothing on the Do 335 incident but can only assume that Werner and other NJG 3 veterans were not impressed with the Dornier..........NJG 3 as a whole seemed to have transferred over to the Ju 88G-6 from November to end of December 1944.

behblc, to manuever out of the path line of a mossie would mean a four man crew on thier toes. Nearly all of the Ju 88G-6 were equipped with Rückswart (rear warning radar) and it would be a good mechanik/gunner to be able to spot a Mossie intruder before the a/c slipped under the rear of the Junkers to apply a lethal burst. Diving away or a very quick split S saved many a crew from the 20mm destruction....although in many cases a very tired and also an ill trained crews would fall prey to the wooden wonder. It was typical in 1945 for the Mossies to invade German airfield space and while the German Fla defences would remain inactive to be stealth any landing Junkers, Bf 110G or He 219 could easily fall to an unseen enemy.

I think the only drawback to the Ju 88G-6 defences or advances would be the Luftwaffe's overall useage of radar as they were behind both the RAF and US technicians as centrimetric radar was standard and only in end of March that the Night fighter arm for Germany incorporated some sets in the Ju 88G-6.......... to late to make any difference in the outcome.

~E
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Post by Commissar D, the Evil »

Hey Guys, here's something pretty to look at:

http://www.milartgl.com/HTML_2/moonlight_hunter.htm

Best Regards,
~D
Death is lighter than a Feather, Duty is heavier than a Mountain....
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